Our Favorite Etsy Shops for National Kidney Month

Look for a Kidney Walk near you during National Kidney Month
(Photo by National Kidney Foundation)

People celebrate the lives of loved ones in many wonderful ways, and we, the Everlasting Footprint Team, find creations that honor personal stories which are truly inspiring. In honor of our Staff Writer, Liz Grear, and her grandfather, who both live with Polycystic Kidney Disease, or PKD, we commemorate and recognize National Kidney Month in March.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, chronic kidney diseases, such as Polycystic Kidney Disease, affect tens of thousands of people every year. While symptoms vary, treatments can be inconvenient and painful. Chronic kidney diseases have both genetic and environmental factors, and it is important to increase people’s kidney disease awareness.

The online community of shopkeepers at Etsy connects people looking to buy and sell vintage items and handmade artwork. Some dedicated shopkeepers make and sell unique kidney disease awareness and kidney health items that can’t be found anywhere else. Each shopkeeper and each item has a history, a legacy, and a story.

At EF, we are dedicated to bringing people together to share stories and support efforts to improve lives. What better way is there to honor National Kidney Month other than to review some of the amazing artwork and craftspeople who work to keep kidney disease awareness active in people’s minds, every day?

Although there are hundreds of great Etsy shops that feature kidney-themed handmade and unique collectibles, jewelry, and artwork, here are our 5 favorite Top Etsy Shops for National Kidney Month:

Etsy Shop 1: “Kidney Disease Awareness”

The first of the Top Etsy Shops was recently founded by a mother of three recovering from Chronic Kidney Disease that resulted in a kidney transplant, the Kidney Disease Awareness shop features everything from kidney health awareness car decals, to inspiring shirt designs and personalized stuffed animals. Shopkeeper Jen also customizes Christmas ornaments and decorative mason jar patterns to customers’ specifications. In her valuable spare time, Jen is also an activist and a fundraiser for kidney health and Kidney Disease Awareness.

Etsy Shop #2: Dress with Ease

One of the most difficult things about living with chronic kidney diseases is the treatment. Cold, uncomfortable, unpleasant. Dialysis and other kidney treatments can leave people feeling drained. The Etsy shop Dress With Ease has put together clothing collections for men and women with physical disabilities, including people who are undergoing dialysis or chemotherapy treatments. Dialysis clothing options include sweatshirts with zippered arms, or sweatpants with zippered leg ports, to stay warm and comfortable while providing medical personnel access for dialysis treatments.

Etsy Shop #3: BrandofU

BrandofU is one of the smaller Etsy shops that specializes in celebrating the lives of people with Polycystic Kidney Disease, or PKD. Their featured items include an “End PKD” awareness bracelet, available in four colors, as well as a book that tells the story of a little boy’s thoughts about living with PKD: Logan’s Bumpy Kidneys. The shopkeeper, and author, April Cielica, states that 70% of book proceeds benefit research for chronic kidney diseases at the University of Alabama.

Etsy Shop #4: TealZeal01

The ribbon color that represents kidney disease awareness is most often green, although orange is the color for kidney cancer. However, teal is the color that specifically represents polycystic kidney disease (PKD). To show your support for kidney disease awareness and treatment research for PKD, shop through the options at TealZeal01. With a selection of one-of-a-kind kidney disease awareness jewelry, from tribal-inspired necklaces to art-deco earrings, they also offer cuddly keychain teddy bears appropriate for children with polycystic kidney disease in their lives, making this shop undoubtedly join our list of the 5 top Etsy shops.

Etsy Shop #5: The Ink Pot

Although there are many top Etsy shops that provide drawings, sketches, and vintage art inspired by human organs, painter Angela Willetts at The Ink Pot uses modern ink techniques to capture the beauty of human organs like never before. With patterns like flowers blooming, human hearts, stomachs, and of course, kidneys, shock and amaze in brilliant color on a white background. This shop’s fine art prints celebrate what makes us human, as well as the lives we live.

Celebrate the people you love who are affected by chronic kidney diseases all year long. This National Kidney Month, remember that moments spent with loved ones are the best way to celebrate life together, every day.

About Cortni Merritt

Managing Editor, Cortni Merritt, MA, reads everything she comes across. She has degrees in both psychology and English, and has been a composition instructor, and a copywriter for lawyers, a coordinator at a dating service, and a property manager of apartments. Cortni makes it her mission to read people's stories.